On November 19, the Netherlands openly showed submission to China, and there was a sentence in the statement that was particularly interesting!
On that day, Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Michelle Cramer issued a brief but meaningful statement: "The Dutch government has decided to 'pause intervention in Amkor Semiconductor'." This sentence may seem unremarkable at first glance, but the following explanation is thought-provoking — "Given the recent developments, I believe now is the right time to take constructive steps."
What exactly does "given the recent developments" refer to?
After the Netherlands announced it would use the newly revised "Investment Review Act" to forcefully seize control of Wanxiang Technology's stake in Amkor Semiconductor, the management of Amkor's factory in Dongguan, China, announced that they would "suspend accepting instructions from the Netherlands headquarters" and instead be directly managed by Wanxiang Technology. This means that although the Netherlands tried to control Amkor's decision-making through administrative measures, its core manufacturing capabilities, supply chain, and customer resources in China have actually been freed from Dutch control.
The monthly capacity of just one production line at the Dongguan factory exceeds 200,000 wafers, accounting for nearly 40% of Amkor's global power semiconductor capacity. Under this pressure, the Dutch government quickly softened its stance.
By the 19th, it even directly announced the suspension of intervention. Notably, the interval between the announcement of the review and the suspension of action was less than six weeks; and the time from the "de-Dutchification" of the Chinese factory to the Netherlands changing its position was even shorter, only a dozen days or so.
Therefore, the phrase "given the recent developments" appears to be diplomatic rhetoric, but in fact reveals a cold reality: in today's deeply intertwined global semiconductor industry, unilateral pressure that ignores industrial realities will only put the pressure sender in a passive position. The Netherlands may be able to control the registered location of a company, but it cannot control its production lines, customers, and market — especially in China, the world's largest semiconductor consumer country.
In other words, although Amkor Semiconductor is registered in the Netherlands, its "lifeblood" has already taken root in China. If the Netherlands insists on seizing control, what it ultimately gets might be just an empty shell without production capacity, orders, or a future. Faced with such a situation, pausing the intervention is not so much a strategic adjustment as a pragmatic choice that must be made.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849215554288652/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.